Homemade Strawberry Cake
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This soft and fluffy homemade strawberry cake is made with fresh strawberries and topped with a creamy strawberry buttercream. With more than 150 five-star reviews since its publication in 2017, this cake is sure to be a favorite in your kitchen, too! If you really love this cake, check it out as cupcakes and a Bundt cake.
This cake is so darn good. There is just no other way to describe it.
After years of being incredibly disappointed with strawberry cakes that tasted too artificial because they were made with strawberry gelatin or ones that were too wet because they didn’t take care to prepare the fresh strawberries properly, I settled on the perfect combination and ratio of ingredients as well as the perfect strawberry buttercream.
This is hands down the most popular cake recipe that exists on my site, and if you give it a shot, I know you’ll be doing a happy-strawberry-cake dance like I do every time I make it.
Why this is the Best Strawberry Cake Recipe
Long ago, around 2010, when I started baking and decorating custom cakes for people, I took to Google and Pinterest to find a homemade strawberry cake that was made with actual fruit. Can you believe it was super difficult to find?
Have you ever tried to search for a fresh strawberry cake recipe from scratch? Or a strawberry cake recipe without gelatin? I found a lot of recipes were made with strawberry jelly, strawberry jam, or even strawberry Jell-O, but that’s not at all what I was looking for.
I wanted soft, fluffy cake dotted with actual bits of real strawberries, and a strawberry cake without gelatin. I found strawberry cupcakes from Brown Eyed Baker that I figured I could turn into a cake, and after a few tries, I settled on this lovely little number that has been gracing people’s kitchens since I published the recipe in 2017.
THE PROBLEM WITH OTHER STRAWBERRY CAKE RECIPES
Since the publication of this recipe in 2017, I see a lot of the same remarks over and over in comments and reviews. Home bakers like you are so happy to find a delicious strawberry cake that doesn’t have any extra steps (like making a strawberry reduction), doesn’t use any strawberry extract, and doesn’t have you reaching for a box of strawberry gelatin.
While there’s certainly nothing wrong with those recipes and I am confident they all have people who use them as their go-to strawberry cake recipe, this strawberry cake has stood the test of time in my as well as my readers’ kitchens, and I am confident that if you give my recipe a try, you will be a believer, too!
Homemade Strawberry Cake ingredients
This easy strawberry cake recipe uses very simple ingredients. The only odd ball is probably the freeze-dried strawberries, but see my note below or in the recipe card about where to find them.
For this strawberry cake, you will need:
• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• butter
• granulated sugar
• vanilla extract
• eggs + egg white
• milk
• fresh strawberries
For the strawberry buttercream, you will need:
• freeze-dried strawberries
• butter
• powdered sugar
• milk or cream
• vanilla extract
• salt
WHERE DO I FIND FREEZE-DRIED STRAWBERRIES?
Freeze-dried strawberries are typically found in the dried fruit section of your grocery store. If you can’t find them there, check the aisle with bulk candy, if your grocery store has one.
Make sure you are buying freeze-dried strawberries and not just dried strawberries. Dried strawberries are more of a gummy texture. You are making strawberry powder, so you’ll want to buy the ones with zero moisture in them.
How to make Strawberry Cake from Scratch
In the recipe card below, you’ll find detailed instructions as well as a video for how to make this cake. Here is an overview of the steps:
Prepare the strawberries: be sure they’re chopped into small pieces. For my strawberry cupcakes, pureeing them works best because of the smaller nature of cupcakes vs a big cake. While you can do that here, too, I like the larger chunks of strawberries in my bites. No need to flour them to keep them suspended! If they’re small enough, they’ll stay put.
Cream the butter + sugar + vanilla: unlike my white layer cake that uses the reverse creaming method, this cake gets mega lift from the air incorporated into the butter and sugar. Be sure you’re using room temperature butter and no warmer.
Add the eggs/egg white one at a time: adding eggs one at a time ensures they incorporate evenly and smoothly into the batter. You’ll want these at room temperature, too.
Add the flour mixture + milk in two parts: why in two parts? Because adding all of the flour mixture or all of the milk at one time can “overload the system” and encourage clumping and/or separating. This doesn’t need to be exact! Aim for about half of the flour mixture and milk each addition.
Fold in the strawberries: gently! And just until combined.
Bake + cool: the cakes need a pretty significant amount of time in the oven but keep an eye on your layers as overbaking them can lead to a dry crumb since this cake is made entirely with butter and no oil.
Trim + stack: I have kept this 2 layers and I’ve also cut each layer in half to make 4 layers. Either works just fine as this cake is sturdy enough to handle being split.
The secret to Fresh Strawberry Cake Buttercream
I spent a whole lot of time trying to make strawberry frosting in my past cake baker life, and I always failed miserably. I never got the right ratio of strawberries to sugar and butter in order to get great flavor and also avoid making a shloopy, drippy mess.
I even tried using strawberry puree, but still didn’t love the result. And it wasn’t until I had a lightbulb moment and wondered if freeze-dried strawberries might do the trick. Spoiler alert: they were perfect.
We can get freeze-dried strawberries in the dried fruit section of our grocery store, so if you aren’t sure yours carries them, check that section carefully! I was surprised to find them there.
You’ll need to blend up approximately 1 cup of the freeze dried strawberries, winding up with about ½ cup of strawberry powder.
That will go directly into your basic buttercream (which is my classic vanilla buttercream recipe) and it will lend the most wonderful strawberry flavor while also keeping the integrity of your sturdy buttercream intact. Win win!
Strawberry Cake Recipe substitutions
If all you have are frozen strawberries, you may use them. Thaw and blot or squeeze dry as much as possible, then proceed with the recipe. You can also use any milk that you prefer, but I always test my recipes with full fat cow milk.
How to serve Homemade Strawberry Cake
This cake can be served as is, or with fresh strawberry compote spooned on top. Garnish the cake with fresh strawberry slices for an extra punch of fresh strawberry flavor and texture.
The second you have a taste of this homemade strawberry cake with strawberry buttercream, you’ll wonder where this cake has been all of your life so far. It is, hands down, the best strawberry cake recipe I have ever had. Ever.
You can also turn this layer cake into a Bundt cake or cupcakes!
MORE FROSTING IDEAS
Consider my Swiss meringue buttercream (you can add ¼ cup of freeze-dried strawberry powder if you want!), chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream, cream cheese frosting (again, consider adding ¼ cup of strawberry powder to turn it into strawberry cream cheese frosting), classic vanilla buttercream, or the lemon buttercream from my blueberry lemon cupcakes.
How to store Fresh Strawberry Cake
Store this cake covered tightly at room temperature up to 5 days, but cake will start to lose its moisture after about 3 days, and strawberries will start to get soggy. Store the cake in the refrigerator to maintain freshness longer.
Homemade Strawberry Cake FAQs
Strawberry Cake from Scratch
Ingredients
STRAWBERRY CAKE
- 3 and ¼ cups (390g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 large egg white room temperature
- 1 cup (240g) milk any though I prefer whole cow; room temperature
- 2 cups finely chopped strawberries1 approximately 16 large strawberries
STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM
- 1 cup (20g) freeze-dried strawberries2
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 4 to 5 cups (480-600g) powdered sugar
- ¼ to ⅓ cup (60-80mL) milk or cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
STRAWBERRY CAKE
- Place oven rack on the middle setting and preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Grease and flour (or use homemade cake release) two 8" or 9" round cake pans.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.3 and ¼ cups (390g) all-purpose flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until the color is light and the texture is fluffy (approximately 2-3 minutes). Add the vanilla then beat again to incorporate.1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar, 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add the eggs and egg white one at a time, allowing each to incorporate before adding the next one and scraping the. Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary.3 large eggs, 1 large egg white
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in 2 parts, alternating with the milk.1 cup (240g) milk
- Blot the strawberries dry (you don't need to wring them out, just blot them), then gently fold in the strawberries by hand.2 cups finely chopped strawberries1
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake cakes for about 40-44 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops are lightly browned. Remove cakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely in the pans on a wire rack before removing and assembling.
STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM
- Using a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder. Set aside.1 cup (20g) freeze-dried strawberries2
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.1 cup (227g) unsalted butter
- With the mixer on low, add in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk or cream. Add the strawberry powder and salt, increase mixer speed to medium, and beat until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. If frosting is too stiff, add more milk. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.4 to 5 cups (480-600g) powdered sugar, ¼ to ⅓ cup (60-80mL) milk or cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
- Trim cooled cake layers to create a flat surface. You can do this with a large serrated knife or a cake leveler. Place one layer on a plate or cake stand and cover the top with strawberry buttercream frosting. Spread evenly with an offset spatula.
- Place second layer on top, cut surface down. For a sturdier cake, refrigerate at this point for about 10 minutes. When cake is slightly chilled, remove from refrigerator and spread more frosting on the top and around the sides. Serve. Leftovers stay fresh, covered tightly, at room temperature up to 5 days and in the refrigerator up to 1 week.
- Make ahead: prepare cakes and frosting up to 1 day in advance. Cover cakes tightly and keep at room temperature or in the refrigerator until ready to assemble. Refrigerate prepared frosting in an airtight container until ready to use. Unfrosted cake layers may be frozen, wrapped tightly, up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before assembling. Frosted cake can be frozen, wrapped tightly, up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
Video
Notes
- Strawberries: you can use frozen strawberries, too. Thaw them first then blot or squeeze some of the liquid out of them before using.
- Freeze-dried strawberries: freeze-dried strawberries are typically found in the dried fruit section of your grocery store. If you can’t find them there, check the aisle with bulk candy, if your grocery store has one.
- Bundt cake: make this cake into a strawberry Bundt cake! The recipe differs only slightly. I paired that one with a white chocolate strawberry ganache, but you can use any frosting you like.
- Cupcakes: while baking this recipe as is will give you 24 delicious cupcakes, see my post for fresh strawberry cupcakes for a recipe specifically developed to make 16 fluffy cupcakes.
- To turn this into a sheet cake: as written, this recipe will make one 9″ x 13″ sheet cake. Bake time will be about 40-42 minutes.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Baking time suggestion for using three 6×2 inch pans?
Hey, Courtney! I’d start with 32-35 minutes and see where that gets you.
Would the amount of batter overflow in two 6 inch pans?
For 6″ pans, I’d halve the recipe.
Made the cake for my sister’s birthday, and it was a hit! Super yunmy! My mom’s birthday is coming up and wanted to use the cake recipe without the strawberry. Will it affect the cake or shall I substitute something else for the strawberries? Thank you!!
Hi, Aya! Thanks so much for your great feedback. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. If you want to make this cake without the strawberries, I’m afraid it won’t work out as nicely as simply omitting them. I’d direct you to either my white layer cake or yellow layer cake. Enjoy!
Wow. It looks delicious. I love strawberry cakes. So, I will try to make it. Your recipe will help me. Thanks for sharing.
I made this cake once and it was soooooo good!!!! Best strawberry cake I’ve had!
Does the cake freeze well? I plan to make a cake as well as cupcakes with this recipe and don’t want to do everything in one day.
Hey, Sheryll! Yes– freezes great. See step 3 labeled “make ahead.”
If I wanted to make a 2 layer 6 inch cake as well as 12 cupcakes…will mutiplying the ingredients by 1.5 work?
For either of those options, halving the recipe is sufficient!
So if I plan to do both a 6 inch cake and 12 cupcakes then just do one batch of your current recipe?
Hey! Looks amazing.
Can this be done without eggs? Please suggest the replacement with yoghurt.
Hi! I’ve never made this cake without eggs, so I can’t advise how to proceed. If you try it, let me know!
Thanks For Sharing this Amazing Recipe. My Family Loved It. I will be sharing this Recipe with my Friends. Hope They will like it.
You’re welcome, Helan!
This cake recipe is so good. Thank you so much for sharing <3
It’s truly my pleasure 🙂
Hi, after reading all of your glowing reviews I am so excited to make this cake! Unfortunately it is winter and therefore I can’t get super fresh strawberries. Do you recommend using frozen strawberries or getting the best looking “fresh” strawberries from the grocery store? Thanks for your help!
Hey, Molly– I’d either splurge a little and get fresh strawberries right now OR I’d use frozen. Thaw them and then blot/squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Let me know what you wind up doing!
I ended up cutting them frozen and tossing them in since you had suggested that to an earlier commenter and it turned out amazing! I have already made it twice and am about to make it a third time! The second time I used 3 cups of strawberries instead of 2 and I think it was perfect! I also made it with white chocolate buttercream and an oreo buttercream. Both were amazing but the white chocolate seemed to be the winner with some sliced fresh strawberries on top to be a better version of strawberry shortcake 🙂
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe it is the best thing I’ve ever baked <3
This comment means so much to me, Molly! Thank you so much!
Hi to make 12 cupcakes should I half the recipe? And also how long would I cook the cupcakes!
Yes, halve the recipe, and start with 12-15 minutes for bake time.
Thank you
Hi there, I’m really hoping you answer this question before May!!! How much batter would I need to make a 3 layer 10” cake? And how long should I bake for? Please help!
Hey, Chantel! You can always rest assured I will reply to a comment within a day or two 🙂 I’d do 2.5x the recipe (split this into 1x then 1.5x batches), and then bake time would be approximately 36-40 minutes (I’d start checking around 36 minutes). Let me know how it turns out!
Thank you so much, Lynn! Love this recipe. I use it all the time and get great feedback! Check out my insta when you have time! @chantelly.cakes
Thanks so much, Chantel! I found ya!
We made this just as written and it was an absolutely delight! My daughter asked for her (third) birthday cake to be “strawberry with strawberry frosting” and frankly I didn’t know where to start—but obviously it wasn’t gonna have any gelatin in it. This recipe is bursting with strawberry flavor, visually stunning, and best of all, not overly sweet! The cake is dense, moist, and tender, and the freeze dried strawberries in the buttercream were a hoot to work with for the first time. Something tells me this is not the last “strawberry with strawberry frosting” cake in our family…
Thank so you much for this review, Aiah! I’m so glad you liked it. I hope the recipe lives in your kitchen for a long time 🙂
I am laughing so hard at this because my daughter’s 3rd birthday party is tomorrow and she asked for the exact. same. thing. Gonna frost this cake in the morning before guests arrive. Kids. SMH! 🙂
Happy birthday to her! Enjoy, Claire 🙂
This frosting was a pain to make. Should be 2 c. Butter and 5 to 6 c. Powdered sugar. Added milk after 4 c. Sugar, and puréed strawberries. Didn’t need food coloring but became too thin. It was too sweet so thickened with cornstarch. Will not make again.
Hey, Cathy– actually, the recipe is written correctly. You say “pureed strawberries,” but the recipe calls for freeze dried strawberries. If that’s indeed what you did, that’s your issue.
If you actually did use freeze dried strawberries, doubling the butter but then only increasing the powdered sugar by AT MOST 1/2 will give you a runny frosting with way too much butter. I’m not sure if that’s what you did, but if it is, that’s your issue. If it’s NOT what you did and you followed the recipe as written, making buttercream is always subjective, and I even state in the recipe what to do if it’s not the consistency you want or need. And adding liquid is ALSO subjective, meaning if you don’t think yours needs it after all of the other ingredients are together, then don’t use it.
You can see this recipe has 50+ 5 star reviews, so it’s a bummer to hear yours didn’t work out, and I don’t think that it’s a particularly fussy buttercream recipe, since it only has one additional ingredient vs regular vanilla buttercream. If you are able to follow the recipe and try again, I’m happy to entertain a discussion about troubleshooting. Thanks for stopping by!
after Mixing your buttercream frosting as directed after 4 c. Of powdered sugar is was nothing but crumbs and strawberries were not added until the end after I had tried to salvage it with not even a 1/4 c. Of milk. Not being able to take criticism is your issue. 50 five star reviews out 170 is not even half so I would stop patting myself on the back
Ok, Cathy! Thanks again for stopping by! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
I’m sorry to blast this recipe but this cake and frosting just went down the garbage deposal. This cake was extremely dry. Not a good taste. It needs to be reworked with a cup of buttermilk or some oil or sour cream. I’ve been baking for 40 years but am fairly new to cakes. I followed this recipe to the letter. I hope you take this down and rework it.
Wait, didn’t you admit in the comment above you didn’t use the right kind of strawberries for the frosting though? It’s ok, we all make mistakes!
I have tried this recipe before and got so many compliments! Really flavorful and amazing recipe! I want to make it again, but bigger. A couple of questions: for how many people do you think a 3-layered 10×2 inch cake would serve? Secondly, I saw you replied to Chantel saying to do 1x the recipe and then 1.5x the recipe. Would it work the same way if I doubled the recipe and then halved it? Any information would be so helpful!
Hey, Abigail! A 3-layer 10″ cake will serve about 14-16 pieces. You’ll need about 30 cups of batter (10 in each pan), and this recipe as written (1x) yields about 12 cups of batter. I would not do more than 1.5x in a batch of batter. Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for the reply! That is really helpful information! If I’m looking to serve 25-30 people, what would you suggest?
Hmm… I’d either do cupcakes (this recipe will make 24-30 cupcakes, bake time would be about 15-18 minutes) or a stacked cake with 10″ and 8″ layers.
Sorry for so many questions, but do you think two 10 inch layers and two 8 inch layers work to serve 25-30 people? If so, would you mind suggesting how many batches I should make and baking time? I am not an expert baker, so that information would be so, so helpful!!
Yes, I meant two layer cakes. A two layer 8″ cake will serve about 10-12 people and a two layer 10″ cake will serve about 12-14. I would do 1x the recipe for two 8″ layers and 1.5x the recipe for two 10″ layers.
Thank you so much Lynn! I truly appreciate your help! Your recipe is amazing, so hopefully I can do it justice! Last question, would the baking time be different for the two 10” cakes? If so, how much would the baking time be?
Bake time is less– start at 35 minutes!
Tried it last year for my son’s 4th bday and we all loved it. This time round I’m Just wondering if you frost it could you put fondant on top of it? He now asked for a Spider-Man strawberry cake 😂
Absolutely! Would love to see the final product 🙂
Omg my son just asked for a strawberry spiderman cake for his birthday too…in 2 days!!! Can I see a picture of your cake???
This cake was so delicious! Equally sophisticated and nostalgic; this cake was a huge win. I was excited it had fresh strawberries in it (which is what sold me on picking this recipe!). It was a lot of fun to make and was simple as well. I will DEFINITELY be making this again.
Thanks so much, Maria! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
This was such a fun recipe to make. The freeze-dried strawberries were perfect. I made it for Mother’s Day and everyone devoured and were totally enamored by it. Will likely make again for the 4th of July.
Thanks so much, Jaime!
Love these recipe. Made it several times and it’s so good. Aroma and taste delicious. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Migdalia!
hello! i’m baking this tmrw for a friends bday and I’m making “lunchbox” cakes. If using a sheet pan how long show I bake it for??
For a 9×13, I’d recommend about 30 minutes.
Since I’ve made this recipe countless of times, it’s time I left a review as a thank you. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who request this cake from me… distant relatives call me near their birthday and coworkers sheepishly hint at it too 😂 I’m grateful for this recipe and only wish freeze dried strawberry powder was more accessible in my rural town. I know it’s truly summer when I make the first April flours strawberry cake of the season.
This is maybe my favorite review ever, Alex. Thank you so much!